Pollock (2000) Movie Script
Who's the greatest drummer
in the world?
Krupa.
- You got it.
- That guy cooks.
Damn right I got it.
Fuck Picasso.
That fuckin' guy.
Fuckin' guy--
Fuckin' guy's done it all.
- You're doing good work.
- No, I'm not.
I'm not worth shit.
- It's not worth shit, Sande.
- Get on your feet.
We're having a child, Sande.
He's my brother.
I'm not going to put up
with it anymore.
...statedyesterday that his patience
with Japan was nearly exhausted.
After nearly two weeks
of negotiations...
in Washington between Japanese
and American officials...
Secretary of State Hull
declared...
that another Japanese military move
into Thailand or elsewhere...
would not be tolerated.
The effect of the statement--
It's hot.
In other news,
the first complete--
Jackson Pollock?
I'm Lee Krasner.
We're in John Graham's show
together.
You working?
Pretty big-time stuff, to be hanging
with Picasso and Braque and that kind.
I thought I knew all
the abstract artists in New York...
and I don't know
Jackson Pollock.
Here's a name
I've never heard of.
So, being cheeky,
I just hoofed it over here.
I could come back
another time.
No, it's okay.
Could I see your work?
I don't know what I expected,
but my God.
- Who do you study with?
- Nobody.
Did you ever?
Thom Benton.
You don't paint
anything like Benton.
Carl Jung and John Graham
helped me get over Benton.
Which one are you showing?
That one.
I'm not sure
I'm finished with it.
I don't think
you should touch it.
I'd like it if you would come
to my studio. Would you?
Yeah. Sure.
- I'm just around the corner. Would you?
- Yeah.
Thanks.
It's 23.
Twenty-three East Ninth.
Really, yes.
You don't have to give me a "when."
Just pop on over.
When you said you'd come by, I didn't
think it would take three weeks.
It hasn't been three weeks.
To the day.
It's not mine.
I didn't do it.
Ex-lover.
That one I did--
ten years ago.
Interesting.
"To whom
shall I hire myself out?
What beast must I adore?
What holy image is attacked?
What hearts must I break?
What lie must I maintain?
In what blood tread?"
Part of Rimbaud's
Seasonin Hell.
That's the one I'm putting
in the Graham show.
That's a damn good picture.
That works.
You're a damn good woman painter.
- You want coffee?
- Yeah, sure. Thanks.
- Let's go.
- What?
You don't think
I make it here?
I met you before,
you know.
It was maybe five years ago.
A loft dance.
You were six sheets
to the wind.
You cut in.
You stepped all over my feet.
Oh, yeah.
Got it. Right.
You were falling
all over me.
I'm sorry.
You were overseas, you know?
It's kind of vivid in my memory.
I thought if you remembered...
to let you know it was okay.
Thanks.
Really.
When did you study with Benton?
'31 .
The Art Students League?
My brother Charles
was studying with Benton...
and so I came out and...
joined him.
Where are you from?
Arizona.
Actually, California.
I'm from Brooklyn.
I was just gonna ask you
where you were from.
My parents came over from Russia.
I'm from right here.
Russia.
Potatoes.
Thanks.
Did you people eat like this
all the time?
How long will you be
in the city, Mrs. Pollock?
For a spell.
We've asked Mother to come
live with us in Connecticut.
Sande found out they're thinking of
drafting married men with children...
who aren't involved
in war production.
I took a job in Connecticut.
Deep River.
Making gliders for the army.
That's great, Sande.
That's swell.
Congratulations.
Not everyone can arrange
to be 4-F,Jack.
Benny Goodman, Gene Krupa--
No one greater.
- Harry James on trumpet.
- The apartment will be all yours, Jack.
You'll have lots of space.
Is this the best hotel
you could find?
- What's she doing here?
- Lee's going to take you home.
- What's she doing here?
- You need to get cleaned up.
Give him some milk
and some eggs.
- Okay.
- Come on.
Thank you.
You've got to see his work.
No one is doing
what Pollock is doing.
Yes, of course.
It would be just great
if you could stop by.
Wonderful.
We'll look forward to it. Bye.
Jackson, breakfast
is on the table.
Lee!
Reuben.
Hello.
Lee Krasner, Howard Putzel.
How nice to meet you.
Howard's been working
with Peggy Guggenheim.
Howard. Of course.
Reuben's here
with Howard Putzel.
He works with Peggy Guggenheim.
When did you get back?
What the hell.
Thought you were in Los Angeles.
- They got me stationed in Brooklyn.
- Look at you!
Jackson, this is Howard Putzel.
I am so very pleased
to meet you.
I've known this guy
since high school.
I met Howard in Los Angeles before
he hooked up with Peggy in Paris.
- Please, right this way.
- We ran into each other yesterday.
How are Barbara and the kids?
They're good. They're coming out
in a couple of weeks.
- How long you here for?
- I don't know.
They say they're gonna ship me
out to India, but who knows.
- What about you?
- 4-F.
Too neurotic.
You dog.
Genius.
Peggy must see this.
How are you?
I'm so glad you made it.
Lee Krasner, Jackson Pollock--
-James Johnson Sweeney from the Modern.
- Nice to meet you.
- Miss Peggy Guggenheim.
- Hello.
Mr. Pollock, Howard
has been talking about you.
Thank you, Howard.
- You must see Jackson's work.
- Yes. Well, enjoy yourselves.
- I like those earrings.
- Thank you.
It's great, Howard.
But there's not one American painter
in the whole goddamn show.
What's this?
I see the head...
the body--
This isn't cubism, Jackson...
because you're not really
breaking down the figure...
into multiple views.
You're just showing us
one side.
What is this? Free association?
Automatism?
I'm just painting, Lee.
But what you're doing,
Jackson--
Don't tell me you don't know
what you're doing.
Are you experimenting
with surrealism?
Is this a dream?
Even if it's a dream,
it's still what you see.
It's life.
You're not just randomly
putting paint on the canvas.
You're painting something.
You can't abstract
from nothing.
You can only abstract from life--
from nature.
I am nature.
If you only work from inside yourself,
you'll repeat yourself.
Why don't you paint
the fucking thing.
"The moon shone bright
on Mrs. Porter and on her daughter.
Washed their feet in soda water."
What the hell's that?
Eliot. T.S. Eliot.
Gentlemen, T.S. Eliot.
Did you hear Gorky
sold to the Modern?
Gorky's a cow.
They forage and eat and come back
in the stable and they're still chewing.
He'll go look at a Picasso
for hours...
go back to his studio
and spit it out.
- Fuck him.
- But he's so good at it.
Yeah, he's good at it,
but we gotta break through that shit.
- What do you think of Kline?
- Kline's a whore.
- Picasso?
- A has-been.
De Kooning?
He's all right.
He's learning.
What do you think
of Jackson Pollock?
That's what we think.
Watch it!
Come on.
I have just climbed up and down
five flights of stairs.
I'm Peggy Guggenheim.
I do not climb up five flights
of stairs to nobody home.
Not l.
I do not climb up
five flights of stairs.
We're sorry.
Sorry is not the word for it.
I have weak ankles.
My fault.
My God. And you're drunk!
You're drunk.
Are you drunk?
" L.K."?
Who the hell is L.K.?
I didn't come here
to look at L.K.
Peggy, this way.
Now, these show something.
This is better.
The most powerful work
to come around the pike.
There's no three ways about it.
You're not really a surrealist...
and, well,
my few Americans are.
What's most impressed Jackson
about the European moderns...
is their concept that the source
of art comes from the unconscious.
Yes, yes. I'm sure.
Jackson, Howard's here.
Do you want coffee?
You've got your first one-man show.
Art of This Century,
November seventh.
- Bravo, Jackson.
- Congratulations.
Here. Have a seat.
Peggy will give you a stipend
of$1 50 a month.
"If at year's end the artist does not
sell equivalent to the advance...
plus one-third commission, he will
make up the difference in paintings."
In other words, my dears...
if you don't sell $2,400 worth,
Peggy owns all the work. So sell.
In addition, Peggy has
commissioned you to paint...
a mural for the entrance hall to her
new town house on 61st and Lexington.
It's big, Jackson--
eight feet by twenty feet.
You have total artistic license.
You can paint anything you like.
You will be the sensation
of the season.
This is my new painter,
Jackson Pollock.
This is my new painter,
Jackson Pollock.
They just donated one of their
paintings to the Whitney Museum.
And of course, you know James Johnson.
Please, enjoy.
Tony, you know Peggy Guggenheim,
don't you?
Tony Smith.
He's a wonderful architect.
- Mom.
- Oh, my, my.
God is good.
How are you, Mom?
- I'm fine.
- Who is this?
I want to introduce you
to Peggy Guggenheim. This is my mother.
- How do you do?
- So lovely to meet you.
- This is James Johnson Sweeney.
- Mrs. Pollock.
- You must be very proud.
- Of all my boys.
Jack, it looks great.
- Well, enjoy.
- Yes, I will.
This isn't painting.
Are you leaving?
Yes. I don't think
it's so hot.
Well, go back and look again.
Oh, Lee. He's original.
He's ambitious.
But there's a lot of mud...
and the titles are...
pretentious.
Muddiness.
Mud abounds.
Go back, Clem,
and look again.
- Read it. Read it.
- Wait a minute. Wait a minute.
"Jackson Pollock is participating
at his first one-man show...
at the Art of This Century gallery.
Being young and full of energy,
he takes orders he can't fill."
- Oh, thanks a lot, Clem.
- Listen to the rest of it, Jackson.
" Pollock has gone through
the influences of Miro...
Picasso, Mexican painting
and whatnot...
and has come out
on the other side...
painting mostly
with his own brush."
- Not bad.
- " Mostly with his own brush"?
The man is saying
you're an original.
- Not one sale.
- Rome wasn't built in one day.
What do you see there, Pollock?
You've been looking at it
for weeks.
Peggy's threatening
to reconsider.
Oh, God.
Sorry.
Happy New Year, everyone.
That the mural goes on and on,
Clem says...
is what makes it so good.
He thinks it's a great painting.
I think you've
found yourself a champion.
It's all bullshit anyway.
Do you like it?
I love it.
You've had a lot of lovers.
My share.
You want to talk about that?
You want to go to bed.
- I had something like that in mind.
- I'll take you up on it.
I don't think you realize
how hard I work...
to get people interested in you--
to get you into the right hands.
And then you act so badly.
You remind me
of a trapped animal.
You have to promise me--
do not rip up my bedroom.
All right, wait a minute.
Wait. Wait!
Shit.
Oh, shit.
I went out looking for you.
- What are you doing to yourself?
- Nothing.
You're doing more than that.
It's like a storm.
It'll pass.
You hear about Howard?
- Putzel?
- Yeah. He's dead.
Heart attack.
I liked Howard.
To Howard.
Yeah.
Here's to you, Howard.
Barb and I and the kids...
we're gonna rent a house
on Long Island this summer.
We want you and Lee
to come out there with us.
You gotta get out of the city
for a while.
I ain't doing no harm here.
Come on, Jack.
Let me take you home.
Lee's gonna be worried sick.
I'm doing no harm.
Take it easy.
I've had enough.
Take me in.
Deck of cards.
Binoculars.
I got it.
I want to get married, Pollock.
I suddenly want to.
So, either we marry
or we split, I think.
I love you.
I think you're a great artist.
I want you to paint.
I want...
very much to keep living
with you...
but I want that commitment
from you too.
You'll have to make the decision.
Who was that girl
you were so gaga over?
You know, the one
that played the banjo.
Becky.
Becky Tarwater.
You were so crazy for her.
I asked her to marry me.
- What'd she say?
- No.
You know that part of our lives...
that's supposed to be
so special--
that growing up part?
It was damn hell for me.
I think it's supposed to be lousy
so the rest is gonna seem easier.
Yeah. Only it isn't.
Daddy, Uncle Jackson,
come play with us.
- What are you doing?
- Where are you going?
Jackson, you want a sandwich?
We could move out here.
Leave New York?
It would be good for us.
Church wedding.
-Jackson, there's no need--
- Church wedding or nothing.
No family, please.
No family.
We'll need a witness.
May Rosenberg.
- And Harold.
- No Harold.
What church?
That's a good question.
- Come here.
- I'm coming.
You're gonna break your back,
Jackson.
Here. Hold this for me.
You can't find the keys?
Oh, come on.
Be careful.
Look at that.
This is good.
Come on.
I don't think I've ever
seen a fox before.
He was beautiful, wasn't he?
His coat was gorgeous.
I bet there's deer
around here too.
Guess I'll paint in the house.
- You're all set. See you next time.
- Thank you.
Howdy.
You're the fella
moved into the old Quinn place.
Morning.
You moved out from the city?
I don't blame you.
In a world where
they can split a tiny atom...
and blow up hundreds
of thousands of people...
there's no telling
where it's all gonna lead.
Best to find a quiet place...
do what you have to do.
You don't have to pay me now.
What's your name?
Jackson Pollock.
Thank you.
Well, we finally made it.
How are you braving the winter?
No coal, no hot water,
no bathroom.
It's like Jack to want
others to share the misery.
- He loves it.
- How's he doing?
It's good for him
to be away from the city.
I guess you're here
to get Jackson drunk again.
Lee.
Well, let me think.
I never actually got Jack drunk.
He never really needed any help.
- He wrote us to spend the weekend.
- Rube--
I'm sure you understand.
Come on.
How you doin', fella?
Are you lost?
I'm gonna have to
find me more space.
How'd it go in there today?
Thought you might
make a table or something.
Get yourself working again.
Hello, bub.
Let's make a baby.
Am I missing something here?
Are you missing something?
We can't.
We can't?
My life is full enough
with you, Jackson.
Where are you going?
Don't walk away.
We're husband and wife.
I wanna have a baby.
Our baby.
That's what the progression of things is
about. That's what the union is about.
That's not what
the union is about.
What else is there?
- That's not what it's about.
- For me!
The vows don't stipulate "baby."
I am not going to bring
another life into that.
We are painters, Jackson.
We don't have any money.
We don't get by.
We struggle.
You are a great artist.
I believe in Jackson Pollock.
There's you
and there's the painting...
and you need, you need, you need!
And I don't want
to be anywhere else.
I don't want to be with...
anyone else.
But that's all I can handle.
- This is it?
- Please.
- Let's go inside for lunch.
- It's beautiful here.
- I want to see the paintings.
- Let's go see the paintings.
Let's go.
We've just moved to the barn.
They're here.
Can we come in?
Sure.
Now be careful.
I want you to meet Alfonso Ossorio.
This is Jackson Pollock.
And you know him.
Ted? Come on in.
Ted Dragon,
this is Jackson Pollock.
They came up for a preview of the show,
and I expect them to buy something.
It's beautiful.
You must be very happy here.
Damn near.
The country's wonderful.
Just enjoy.
Now, this one--
You're retreating into
imagery again, Jackson.
Paint is paint,
surface is surface.
That's all they should be.
Now this is--
This is first rate.
Why don't you do
eight or ten of those?
Paint is paint, surface is surface.
That's all they should be.
Paint is paint, surface is surface.
That's all they should be.
The surrealists confuse
literature with painting.
I can't stand that.
They will not have their way.
What you're doing out there
is better than anything...
I've seen from you
in a year or more.
No, I gotta backtrack.
Peggy's mural.
That's when I thought,
" Here's a great painter."
And people saying to me,
"It's wallpaper. It repeats itself."
It's always been my plan
to return to Europe.
I don't have the energy for it
since Howard died.
But Jackson needs a gallery.
What was the one that missed?
The one that wasn't so good?
I don't think you have color yet.
Like Picasso, you're much better off
when you keep your color quiet.
- Which one was it? I'll fix it.
- The one with all the blue.
- It's predominantly blue.
- The wrong blue? Too much blue?
All I want art to be is good, Jackson.
The picture misses.
And what do you think, Ted?
I think it's interesting.
I like blue.
- What do you think, Alfonso?
- I think it's your painting.
- But you think it misses.
- Clem may have a point, and he may not.
- You think it misses?
- I don't know.
You think it might miss?
Alfonso, you think it might miss?
- It might.
- I'll just go fix it for you.
- Is he all right, Lee?
- He's fine.
So it's all the blue
that's bothering you?
What else?
You want the color quiet?
- It could be a little quieter.
- Let's just quiet the color then.
Now, this is something.
- No matter how drunk you are--
- I'm not drunk.
One thing's sacred for you.
Not anybody's feelings
or anything like that.
It's your art.
You're not gonna destroy your art.
This is something.
He's had four shows with you, Peggy.
You can't suddenly not have a gallery.
You owe him.
Sam won't take him.
What did Betty Parsons say?
So? Everyone drinks.
He's not the only one.
I know, but he's a great painter.
Of course.
I'll call you back.
I'll have supper ready
in a jiffy.
Looks like Betty Parsons
may take you in.
Peggy's willing to continue
the monthly allowance through next year.
So she'll still own
all your unsold paintings...
but Betty will get a commission
on new work that sells.
You've done it, Pollock.
You've cracked it wide open.
Pass.
A nickel.
I'll see your nickel...
and I'll raise you...
a quarter.
I don't like
the look of that smile.
There is a smile of love
and there is a smile of deceit. I'm out.
I'm out.
- Too rich for my blood.
- Two two's.
"There is a smile of smiles...
in which these two smiles meet."
- William Blake.
- Such a bluffer.
Did you hear de Kooning
sold to the Modern?
Want me to deal?
"A singular concentration
of passion and technique...
fierce energy, virtuosity."
I guess it doesn't hurt that
his wife is fucking the critic.
- Who you talking about?
- De Kooning.
I don't know if I'd agree with
virtuosity, but it was a hell of a show.
Blah, blah, blah.
- Did you see the show?
- We're not in Siberia.
So you're the critic now.
No one knows I fuckin' exist.
Who the hell's talkin' about me?
I write about every
goddamn show you have.
You're the only one, Clem.
What good does your praise do me?
It's new stuff.
You gotta give it time.
We're broke!
I'm digging clams out of the bay.
I don't see de Kooning digging clams.
Everyone is struggling.
- It'll break for you soon.
- When?
Jackson, I just took part
in a roundtable on modern art...
held by Life magazine...
for God's sakes.
America has become the center
of Western civilization...
and what you're doing
is the most original...
and vigorous art in the country.
The rest of the critics will catch on.
You just keep at it.
I'm keepin' at it.
Don't tell me to keep at it.
I'm keepin' at it!
Did Clem ruffle your feathers?
- I love all women!
- You get off him!
Get off me!
He can take care of himself!.
This is my house!
Crazy bitch.
This is my house!
Okay, I'm glad that's over.
I'll be right there.
- Hey, Jackson.
- We owe you $56?
Sounds about right.
Hello, there, Jackson.
You oughta mind
your own fuckin' business, bub.
I'm tellin' you, Sande,
if I can do it, you can too.
It's been three weeks now.
Not a drop.
Hell, I quit for good.
We're still strugglin',
but Alfonso and Ted bought a painting.
We won't see any of the money till
I sell a bunch more, but guess what.
Demarest Fund came through.
Fifteen hundred bucks.
I bought a Model A.
Ninety bucks.
No, I'm not kiddin'.
It's just like we used to have.
Would you put Mom back on?
I'd like to say good night.
Okay, then tell 'em good night
from Uncle Jack.
I think the Macys
are going to buy.
Good.
- Are you here?
- That depends.
I'm sorry, he's painting right now.
This is Lee Krasner, his wife.
Yes.
Of course.
I'll let him know.
Bye.
Life magazine.
They want to do
an article on you.
Damn.
I don't let the image
carry the painting.
If it creeps in,
I try to do away with it...
to let the painting come through.
Hold it a minute there, please.
Pollock spends hours
contemplating a painting.
It may be days or even months
before he tackles it again.
Who are your favorite artists?
De Kooning...
Kandinsky.
EI Greco, Goya, Rembrandt.
How do you respond
to some of your critics?
They have said,
"A mop of tangled hair."
"A child's contour map
of the Battle of Gettysburg."
"Cathartic disintegration."
What do you say to that?
- You forgot "baked macaroni."
- Well?
Well, if people would just...
leave most of their stuff at home
and just look at the paintings...
I don't think they'd have
any trouble enjoying them.
It's like looking
at a bed of flowers.
You don't tear your hair out
over what it means.
How do you know when
you're finished with a painting?
How do you know when
you're finished making love?
That's better.
Just be yourself.
Delivery.
Have you seen this...
Life magazine article?
I have plenty if you want one.
Enjoy the show.
Cheer up.
I'm gonna go sell a big one.
Take a look around, fellas.
These are the big shots.
Jackson broke the ice.
Hi. How are you?
- Do you know the Petersons?
- No.
This is Betty Parsons.
Hi, Mom.
Pollock showed 30 pictures last fall
and sold all but five...
and his collectors
are nibbling at those.
Mr. Pollock, in your opinion,
what is the meaning of modern art?
Mr. Pollock, in your opinion,
what is the meaning of modern art?
Modern art, to me...
is nothing more than...
the expression
of the contemporary aims...
of the age that we're living in.
Did the classical artists
have any means of expressing their age?
Yes, and they did it very well.
All cultures have had
means and techniques...
of expressing their...
immediate aims.
The thing that interests me...
is that today...
painters do not have to go to
a subject matter outside of themselves.
They work from a different source.
They work from within.
It seems tome...
that the modern artist
cannot express this age--
the airplane, the atom bomb,
the radio--
in the old forms
of the Renaissance...
or any other past culture.
How do you go about
getting the paint on the canvas?
I understand you don't use brushes
or anything of that sort.
I paint on the floor.
That's not unusual.
The Orientals did that.
Most of the paint I use
is a liquid flowing kind of paint.
The brushes I use
are used more as sticks.
The brush doesn't actually
touch the canvas...
but just above it.
Isn't it more difficult to control,
and isn't there more of possibility...
of getting too much paint,
or splattering, or any number of things?
No, I don't think so.
With experience...
it seems possible to control...
the flow of the paint
to a great extent...
and I don't use--
I don't use the accident...
'cause I deny the accident.
Did you see
the Magazine of Art review?
It was a public recant,
a complete switcheroo.
Five years ago, he called
Pollock's work "baked macaroni."
Now he says,
"an impregnable language of image--
beautiful and subtle patterns
of pure form."
- You all made it.
- Yeah, we made it.
How was it?
Hi, Elizabeth.
Good to see you.
You must be Jeremy.
Dad drove 1 00 miles an hour
all the way from L.A.
Hey, how are you?
How you doin'?
Hi, Charles.
Hi, Jack.
- How are you, Karen?
- She's pleased to meet you.
Hi, Mom.
It's so nice to have
all my boys together.
I'm so glad everybody's here.
How you doin'?
How was the trip?
He's so heavy.
I miss you, you son of a bitch.
I miss you. It's just not the same.
Nothin' was ever the same
to begin with.
- What do you think?
- Shangri-la.
Everybody okay down there?
You hit the big time, Jack.
How many did you sell from that
November show? Mother wrote 18.
That was the best show I ever had.
It all gets poured back into the house.
I'm thinking of buying the acreage next
door, put up a studio for Lee maybe.
Free up the upstairs bedroom,
give her more space.
I think he probably articulated
the profundity of Jackson's art...
more eloquently than anyone has.
- How are they?
- Fine. Mother's reading Peter Pan.
This one here, this is from
the most recent Art News.
- Story about a boy who never grew up.
- Another rave.
I can't wait to see what he's
gonna say about Jackson's next show.
I'm not sure
I always get it, Jack.
I'm the only painter
worth looking at in America.
- There really isn't anyone else.
- I expect that's true, Jack.
- This guy wants to make a film on me.
- Why?
Well, they made one on Calder.
I have a show coming up
at the Circle Gallery.
I'm exhibiting under
the name Charles Pima.
What the hell you doin' that for?
This is priced at 4,000.
Buy it for 1 ,500.
It'll be worth 1 00,000 someday.
-Just any kind for me.
- I'll have a cherry.
Does anybody speak Italian?
I need somebody
who speaks Italian.
Do you speak Italian?
Here it is, Arte Moderna.
We figured out that much-- " Modern Art."
There's an article about me.
Does anybody know
what that means?
Does anybody wanna play anagrams?
Here's something about
" Povro Picasso."
Povro Picasso.
Did you hear that?
What do you think that means?
- I think it means "poor Picasso."
- Poor Picasso?
Like poor? Did you guys hear that?
Poor Picasso!
Is Picasso more important
than your family?
I had this dream.
I'm at the edge of a cliff, and my
brothers are there, all four of them...
and they're trying
to push me off the cliff.
Goddamn fuckin' nightmare.
We're rollin'.
Now come back in.
We're rollin'.
Now come back in.
Don't stop.
That's good.
Stop, stop.
Go to the chair, sit down.
Put your shoes on.
Your head's too low.
Lift it up.
Don't talk. We see your mouth moving.
You're supposed to be alone.
Cut.
We gotta do it again.
You can't talk.
Now sit down.
Don't look at camera.
That's good. Shoes.
That's better.
That looks good.
Cut, cut, cut.
You need to take more time looking.
Like-- I don't know.
Like you're thinking or wondering.
Cut.
Jackson, cut.
Cut. We ran out of film.
Just tell him
you don't wanna do it.
I can't.
Not polite.
It's been a month.
He wants to get it right.
It's not just that, anyway.
I feel like a phony.
You're a great painter, Pollock.
Just paint.
He wants to shoot through glass
so he can see my face.
You're the star.
I feel like a clam
without a shell.
Fuck him.
Fuck him. It's not for you.
I think it's gonna be
your best show ever, Jackson.
Everything works.
The big pictures...
the smaller ones.
It's phenomenal.
I don't think
it's going to sell, though.
- Take care of yourself.
- Will do.
I can't believe
they're still out there.
He's gotta be frozen.
Hello! Happy Thanksgiving!
Yeah. The light's gone.
That's it, Jackson.
We're done.
It's great. It's marvelous.
Jackson, where have you been?
Jackson, please.
Damn it, Hans, we need this.
Come in here.
Here, this one's for you.
First drink I've had
in two years.
Don't be a fool, Jackson.
Carve the turkey for me.
- The gravy.
- Anybody wanna eat?
The turkey will be served.
I'm not the phony,
you're the phony.
- Let's eat!
- Let's eat.
- I'm not the phony, you're the phony.
-Jackson, enough.
No. I want you
sitting next to me.
Come on, sit next to me.
Here you go.
I'm so hungry.
I'm sitting next to my buddy.
I'm not the phony,
you're the phony.
How about a toast
to our hostess?
- Should I do it now, Hans?
- Here we go.
- Now?
- Stop it.
Now, Hans?
Now?
Now!
I understand there was a ruckus
over my Partisan Review article.
Go find it, Lee.
Jewish cunt.
Lee's the one who wants you here.
I call 'em the way I see 'em.
Do you want it any other way?
You call 'em the way you see 'em?
I'm traded in for Clyfford Still.
Jackson, that's not
what Clem's saying.
Clyfford Still is one of
the most original painters around.
- If not the best?
- If not the best.
- Did you read the article?
- I read the whole goddamn thing.
- Clem wasn't trading you for Still.
- Then what was he doing?
The article was about the direction
of modern art. It's not just about you.
- I'm talking to him.
- If you--
I'm not talking to you!
Shut up!
You didn't review '52,
the '54 show was "forced and pumped."
- Is that right?
- As I saw it.
Have I lost my stuff, Clem?
Everybody loses their stuff, Jackson.
You had a good ten-year run.
Everything's gorgeous.
Gorgeous isn't good enough.
What do you want from me?
I like " Easter and the Totem."
Is it as good as the Peterson
it was next to at the Carnegie exhibit?
The Peterson was better.
I had something goin'
in that picture, but it missed.
I had something goin' in "The Deep" too,
but it just missed.
- "The Deep" was a kiss-ass to Still.
- No one asked you!
Clyfford Still couldn't
polish Jackson's shoes.
Look what you were painting
when you were sober.
Now that you're back on booze,
do you paint real pictures?
- Climb off my back, bitch!
- You're a goddamn bum!
Open that mouth again,
I'll kill you!
You are killing me!
You are killing me!
Bitch! Bitch! Bitch!
You wouldn't have a child,
you fuckin' cunt whore!
That would have really
fixed everything.
I never loved you!
Go fuck yourself!.
- I don't even wanna touch you, whore!
- Your sex life is of no concern to me.
Weekly trips to your therapist.
What a joke.
And whatever trash you pick up at
the Cedar afterwards. I could care less!
You don't wanna stay here.
You won't be able to stand it.
This is morning to night. This happens
when we're taking out the garbage!
What are you lookin' for?
What are you pushin' me for?
Stop crying about it and paint!
You're Jackson Pollock
and you don't paint!
It's a tragedy
and I can't stand it!
Paint!
- You look great.
- Thanks. I missed you.
- Don't look at me that way.
- I'm not looking at you.
I was thinking we could visit Peggy
in Venice, see the Biennale.
Time to go to Europe
is when you're very young...
or very old.
But you should go.
Everybody should do
what the hell they wanna do.
She left it in the car.
I'm surprised she hasn't missed it.
You take her
where our friends are.
They have the good grace
not to tell me.
If you don't stop seeing her,
I'm going to leave you.
- I love her.
- You don't.
She's my last chance.
I am not going
to give you a divorce.
If you could be anybody...
who ever lived...
in the history
of the whole world...
who would you be?
You.
I'd better get that.
- Hello?
- I'm ridiculous.
I think I left
my passport at the house.
I suppose I'll have to wait
till the next sailing.
Oh, here it is.
I found it.
Buried in my purse.
I owe the woman something.
I'd be dead without her.
But I'm the one
who loves you, Jackson.
The roses were...
the most beautiful deep red.
I miss you, and wish
you were sharing this with me.
It would be wonderful
to get a note from you.
The painting here
is unbelievably bad.
How are you, Jackson?
Kiss Gyp for me.
Love, Lee.
What have you got there,
Mr. Pollack?
I found him hit on the road.
He's a beautiful dog.
You gotta save him.
He's a beautiful dog.
Keep a girl waiting,
why don't you?
This is my friend, Edith Metzger.
Just throw your stuff in the back.
We'll fit in the front, I think.
Thanks.
Edith wants to go
to the beach today.
We're all set and ready to go.
You go.
We'll wait for you.
Okay?
Are we going?
He's taking a little nap.
He'll be down in a little bit.
- Is he sick?
- No, he's fine.
Let's go see the studio.
What's doin' for tonight?
I'm invited to Rosario's for...
a "musicale" or
somethin' or other benefit.
That could be fun.
Let's go.
I don't want to see
all those people.
Come on, I wanna take
a picture with you.
Edith, take our picture.
Okay, here we go.
Leave the dishes.
- Get dressed.
- We don't have to go, Jackson.
Really, you don't
have to amuse me.
Leave the dishes.
Get dressed.
What's the matter, Jackson?
Are you all right?
- I'm gonna call for help.
- Don't go in there.
- I don't wanna drive with him.
- Get her back in the car.
He's fine. I promise.
We're gonna go home.
I don't wanna drive with him.
Get her back in the car!
Tell him to slow down.
Slow down. Jackson.
Please.
Will you tell him
he has got to slow down this car!
Jackson, slow down.
- Let me out of your car!
- Shut up!
- Let me out!
- Shut up! Jackson!
Let me out of this car!
Get back in the car!
Jackson!
Stop this car right now, Jackson!
in the world?
Krupa.
- You got it.
- That guy cooks.
Damn right I got it.
Fuck Picasso.
That fuckin' guy.
Fuckin' guy--
Fuckin' guy's done it all.
- You're doing good work.
- No, I'm not.
I'm not worth shit.
- It's not worth shit, Sande.
- Get on your feet.
We're having a child, Sande.
He's my brother.
I'm not going to put up
with it anymore.
...statedyesterday that his patience
with Japan was nearly exhausted.
After nearly two weeks
of negotiations...
in Washington between Japanese
and American officials...
Secretary of State Hull
declared...
that another Japanese military move
into Thailand or elsewhere...
would not be tolerated.
The effect of the statement--
It's hot.
In other news,
the first complete--
Jackson Pollock?
I'm Lee Krasner.
We're in John Graham's show
together.
You working?
Pretty big-time stuff, to be hanging
with Picasso and Braque and that kind.
I thought I knew all
the abstract artists in New York...
and I don't know
Jackson Pollock.
Here's a name
I've never heard of.
So, being cheeky,
I just hoofed it over here.
I could come back
another time.
No, it's okay.
Could I see your work?
I don't know what I expected,
but my God.
- Who do you study with?
- Nobody.
Did you ever?
Thom Benton.
You don't paint
anything like Benton.
Carl Jung and John Graham
helped me get over Benton.
Which one are you showing?
That one.
I'm not sure
I'm finished with it.
I don't think
you should touch it.
I'd like it if you would come
to my studio. Would you?
Yeah. Sure.
- I'm just around the corner. Would you?
- Yeah.
Thanks.
It's 23.
Twenty-three East Ninth.
Really, yes.
You don't have to give me a "when."
Just pop on over.
When you said you'd come by, I didn't
think it would take three weeks.
It hasn't been three weeks.
To the day.
It's not mine.
I didn't do it.
Ex-lover.
That one I did--
ten years ago.
Interesting.
"To whom
shall I hire myself out?
What beast must I adore?
What holy image is attacked?
What hearts must I break?
What lie must I maintain?
In what blood tread?"
Part of Rimbaud's
Seasonin Hell.
That's the one I'm putting
in the Graham show.
That's a damn good picture.
That works.
You're a damn good woman painter.
- You want coffee?
- Yeah, sure. Thanks.
- Let's go.
- What?
You don't think
I make it here?
I met you before,
you know.
It was maybe five years ago.
A loft dance.
You were six sheets
to the wind.
You cut in.
You stepped all over my feet.
Oh, yeah.
Got it. Right.
You were falling
all over me.
I'm sorry.
You were overseas, you know?
It's kind of vivid in my memory.
I thought if you remembered...
to let you know it was okay.
Thanks.
Really.
When did you study with Benton?
'31 .
The Art Students League?
My brother Charles
was studying with Benton...
and so I came out and...
joined him.
Where are you from?
Arizona.
Actually, California.
I'm from Brooklyn.
I was just gonna ask you
where you were from.
My parents came over from Russia.
I'm from right here.
Russia.
Potatoes.
Thanks.
Did you people eat like this
all the time?
How long will you be
in the city, Mrs. Pollock?
For a spell.
We've asked Mother to come
live with us in Connecticut.
Sande found out they're thinking of
drafting married men with children...
who aren't involved
in war production.
I took a job in Connecticut.
Deep River.
Making gliders for the army.
That's great, Sande.
That's swell.
Congratulations.
Not everyone can arrange
to be 4-F,Jack.
Benny Goodman, Gene Krupa--
No one greater.
- Harry James on trumpet.
- The apartment will be all yours, Jack.
You'll have lots of space.
Is this the best hotel
you could find?
- What's she doing here?
- Lee's going to take you home.
- What's she doing here?
- You need to get cleaned up.
Give him some milk
and some eggs.
- Okay.
- Come on.
Thank you.
You've got to see his work.
No one is doing
what Pollock is doing.
Yes, of course.
It would be just great
if you could stop by.
Wonderful.
We'll look forward to it. Bye.
Jackson, breakfast
is on the table.
Lee!
Reuben.
Hello.
Lee Krasner, Howard Putzel.
How nice to meet you.
Howard's been working
with Peggy Guggenheim.
Howard. Of course.
Reuben's here
with Howard Putzel.
He works with Peggy Guggenheim.
When did you get back?
What the hell.
Thought you were in Los Angeles.
- They got me stationed in Brooklyn.
- Look at you!
Jackson, this is Howard Putzel.
I am so very pleased
to meet you.
I've known this guy
since high school.
I met Howard in Los Angeles before
he hooked up with Peggy in Paris.
- Please, right this way.
- We ran into each other yesterday.
How are Barbara and the kids?
They're good. They're coming out
in a couple of weeks.
- How long you here for?
- I don't know.
They say they're gonna ship me
out to India, but who knows.
- What about you?
- 4-F.
Too neurotic.
You dog.
Genius.
Peggy must see this.
How are you?
I'm so glad you made it.
Lee Krasner, Jackson Pollock--
-James Johnson Sweeney from the Modern.
- Nice to meet you.
- Miss Peggy Guggenheim.
- Hello.
Mr. Pollock, Howard
has been talking about you.
Thank you, Howard.
- You must see Jackson's work.
- Yes. Well, enjoy yourselves.
- I like those earrings.
- Thank you.
It's great, Howard.
But there's not one American painter
in the whole goddamn show.
What's this?
I see the head...
the body--
This isn't cubism, Jackson...
because you're not really
breaking down the figure...
into multiple views.
You're just showing us
one side.
What is this? Free association?
Automatism?
I'm just painting, Lee.
But what you're doing,
Jackson--
Don't tell me you don't know
what you're doing.
Are you experimenting
with surrealism?
Is this a dream?
Even if it's a dream,
it's still what you see.
It's life.
You're not just randomly
putting paint on the canvas.
You're painting something.
You can't abstract
from nothing.
You can only abstract from life--
from nature.
I am nature.
If you only work from inside yourself,
you'll repeat yourself.
Why don't you paint
the fucking thing.
"The moon shone bright
on Mrs. Porter and on her daughter.
Washed their feet in soda water."
What the hell's that?
Eliot. T.S. Eliot.
Gentlemen, T.S. Eliot.
Did you hear Gorky
sold to the Modern?
Gorky's a cow.
They forage and eat and come back
in the stable and they're still chewing.
He'll go look at a Picasso
for hours...
go back to his studio
and spit it out.
- Fuck him.
- But he's so good at it.
Yeah, he's good at it,
but we gotta break through that shit.
- What do you think of Kline?
- Kline's a whore.
- Picasso?
- A has-been.
De Kooning?
He's all right.
He's learning.
What do you think
of Jackson Pollock?
That's what we think.
Watch it!
Come on.
I have just climbed up and down
five flights of stairs.
I'm Peggy Guggenheim.
I do not climb up five flights
of stairs to nobody home.
Not l.
I do not climb up
five flights of stairs.
We're sorry.
Sorry is not the word for it.
I have weak ankles.
My fault.
My God. And you're drunk!
You're drunk.
Are you drunk?
" L.K."?
Who the hell is L.K.?
I didn't come here
to look at L.K.
Peggy, this way.
Now, these show something.
This is better.
The most powerful work
to come around the pike.
There's no three ways about it.
You're not really a surrealist...
and, well,
my few Americans are.
What's most impressed Jackson
about the European moderns...
is their concept that the source
of art comes from the unconscious.
Yes, yes. I'm sure.
Jackson, Howard's here.
Do you want coffee?
You've got your first one-man show.
Art of This Century,
November seventh.
- Bravo, Jackson.
- Congratulations.
Here. Have a seat.
Peggy will give you a stipend
of$1 50 a month.
"If at year's end the artist does not
sell equivalent to the advance...
plus one-third commission, he will
make up the difference in paintings."
In other words, my dears...
if you don't sell $2,400 worth,
Peggy owns all the work. So sell.
In addition, Peggy has
commissioned you to paint...
a mural for the entrance hall to her
new town house on 61st and Lexington.
It's big, Jackson--
eight feet by twenty feet.
You have total artistic license.
You can paint anything you like.
You will be the sensation
of the season.
This is my new painter,
Jackson Pollock.
This is my new painter,
Jackson Pollock.
They just donated one of their
paintings to the Whitney Museum.
And of course, you know James Johnson.
Please, enjoy.
Tony, you know Peggy Guggenheim,
don't you?
Tony Smith.
He's a wonderful architect.
- Mom.
- Oh, my, my.
God is good.
How are you, Mom?
- I'm fine.
- Who is this?
I want to introduce you
to Peggy Guggenheim. This is my mother.
- How do you do?
- So lovely to meet you.
- This is James Johnson Sweeney.
- Mrs. Pollock.
- You must be very proud.
- Of all my boys.
Jack, it looks great.
- Well, enjoy.
- Yes, I will.
This isn't painting.
Are you leaving?
Yes. I don't think
it's so hot.
Well, go back and look again.
Oh, Lee. He's original.
He's ambitious.
But there's a lot of mud...
and the titles are...
pretentious.
Muddiness.
Mud abounds.
Go back, Clem,
and look again.
- Read it. Read it.
- Wait a minute. Wait a minute.
"Jackson Pollock is participating
at his first one-man show...
at the Art of This Century gallery.
Being young and full of energy,
he takes orders he can't fill."
- Oh, thanks a lot, Clem.
- Listen to the rest of it, Jackson.
" Pollock has gone through
the influences of Miro...
Picasso, Mexican painting
and whatnot...
and has come out
on the other side...
painting mostly
with his own brush."
- Not bad.
- " Mostly with his own brush"?
The man is saying
you're an original.
- Not one sale.
- Rome wasn't built in one day.
What do you see there, Pollock?
You've been looking at it
for weeks.
Peggy's threatening
to reconsider.
Oh, God.
Sorry.
Happy New Year, everyone.
That the mural goes on and on,
Clem says...
is what makes it so good.
He thinks it's a great painting.
I think you've
found yourself a champion.
It's all bullshit anyway.
Do you like it?
I love it.
You've had a lot of lovers.
My share.
You want to talk about that?
You want to go to bed.
- I had something like that in mind.
- I'll take you up on it.
I don't think you realize
how hard I work...
to get people interested in you--
to get you into the right hands.
And then you act so badly.
You remind me
of a trapped animal.
You have to promise me--
do not rip up my bedroom.
All right, wait a minute.
Wait. Wait!
Shit.
Oh, shit.
I went out looking for you.
- What are you doing to yourself?
- Nothing.
You're doing more than that.
It's like a storm.
It'll pass.
You hear about Howard?
- Putzel?
- Yeah. He's dead.
Heart attack.
I liked Howard.
To Howard.
Yeah.
Here's to you, Howard.
Barb and I and the kids...
we're gonna rent a house
on Long Island this summer.
We want you and Lee
to come out there with us.
You gotta get out of the city
for a while.
I ain't doing no harm here.
Come on, Jack.
Let me take you home.
Lee's gonna be worried sick.
I'm doing no harm.
Take it easy.
I've had enough.
Take me in.
Deck of cards.
Binoculars.
I got it.
I want to get married, Pollock.
I suddenly want to.
So, either we marry
or we split, I think.
I love you.
I think you're a great artist.
I want you to paint.
I want...
very much to keep living
with you...
but I want that commitment
from you too.
You'll have to make the decision.
Who was that girl
you were so gaga over?
You know, the one
that played the banjo.
Becky.
Becky Tarwater.
You were so crazy for her.
I asked her to marry me.
- What'd she say?
- No.
You know that part of our lives...
that's supposed to be
so special--
that growing up part?
It was damn hell for me.
I think it's supposed to be lousy
so the rest is gonna seem easier.
Yeah. Only it isn't.
Daddy, Uncle Jackson,
come play with us.
- What are you doing?
- Where are you going?
Jackson, you want a sandwich?
We could move out here.
Leave New York?
It would be good for us.
Church wedding.
-Jackson, there's no need--
- Church wedding or nothing.
No family, please.
No family.
We'll need a witness.
May Rosenberg.
- And Harold.
- No Harold.
What church?
That's a good question.
- Come here.
- I'm coming.
You're gonna break your back,
Jackson.
Here. Hold this for me.
You can't find the keys?
Oh, come on.
Be careful.
Look at that.
This is good.
Come on.
I don't think I've ever
seen a fox before.
He was beautiful, wasn't he?
His coat was gorgeous.
I bet there's deer
around here too.
Guess I'll paint in the house.
- You're all set. See you next time.
- Thank you.
Howdy.
You're the fella
moved into the old Quinn place.
Morning.
You moved out from the city?
I don't blame you.
In a world where
they can split a tiny atom...
and blow up hundreds
of thousands of people...
there's no telling
where it's all gonna lead.
Best to find a quiet place...
do what you have to do.
You don't have to pay me now.
What's your name?
Jackson Pollock.
Thank you.
Well, we finally made it.
How are you braving the winter?
No coal, no hot water,
no bathroom.
It's like Jack to want
others to share the misery.
- He loves it.
- How's he doing?
It's good for him
to be away from the city.
I guess you're here
to get Jackson drunk again.
Lee.
Well, let me think.
I never actually got Jack drunk.
He never really needed any help.
- He wrote us to spend the weekend.
- Rube--
I'm sure you understand.
Come on.
How you doin', fella?
Are you lost?
I'm gonna have to
find me more space.
How'd it go in there today?
Thought you might
make a table or something.
Get yourself working again.
Hello, bub.
Let's make a baby.
Am I missing something here?
Are you missing something?
We can't.
We can't?
My life is full enough
with you, Jackson.
Where are you going?
Don't walk away.
We're husband and wife.
I wanna have a baby.
Our baby.
That's what the progression of things is
about. That's what the union is about.
That's not what
the union is about.
What else is there?
- That's not what it's about.
- For me!
The vows don't stipulate "baby."
I am not going to bring
another life into that.
We are painters, Jackson.
We don't have any money.
We don't get by.
We struggle.
You are a great artist.
I believe in Jackson Pollock.
There's you
and there's the painting...
and you need, you need, you need!
And I don't want
to be anywhere else.
I don't want to be with...
anyone else.
But that's all I can handle.
- This is it?
- Please.
- Let's go inside for lunch.
- It's beautiful here.
- I want to see the paintings.
- Let's go see the paintings.
Let's go.
We've just moved to the barn.
They're here.
Can we come in?
Sure.
Now be careful.
I want you to meet Alfonso Ossorio.
This is Jackson Pollock.
And you know him.
Ted? Come on in.
Ted Dragon,
this is Jackson Pollock.
They came up for a preview of the show,
and I expect them to buy something.
It's beautiful.
You must be very happy here.
Damn near.
The country's wonderful.
Just enjoy.
Now, this one--
You're retreating into
imagery again, Jackson.
Paint is paint,
surface is surface.
That's all they should be.
Now this is--
This is first rate.
Why don't you do
eight or ten of those?
Paint is paint, surface is surface.
That's all they should be.
Paint is paint, surface is surface.
That's all they should be.
The surrealists confuse
literature with painting.
I can't stand that.
They will not have their way.
What you're doing out there
is better than anything...
I've seen from you
in a year or more.
No, I gotta backtrack.
Peggy's mural.
That's when I thought,
" Here's a great painter."
And people saying to me,
"It's wallpaper. It repeats itself."
It's always been my plan
to return to Europe.
I don't have the energy for it
since Howard died.
But Jackson needs a gallery.
What was the one that missed?
The one that wasn't so good?
I don't think you have color yet.
Like Picasso, you're much better off
when you keep your color quiet.
- Which one was it? I'll fix it.
- The one with all the blue.
- It's predominantly blue.
- The wrong blue? Too much blue?
All I want art to be is good, Jackson.
The picture misses.
And what do you think, Ted?
I think it's interesting.
I like blue.
- What do you think, Alfonso?
- I think it's your painting.
- But you think it misses.
- Clem may have a point, and he may not.
- You think it misses?
- I don't know.
You think it might miss?
Alfonso, you think it might miss?
- It might.
- I'll just go fix it for you.
- Is he all right, Lee?
- He's fine.
So it's all the blue
that's bothering you?
What else?
You want the color quiet?
- It could be a little quieter.
- Let's just quiet the color then.
Now, this is something.
- No matter how drunk you are--
- I'm not drunk.
One thing's sacred for you.
Not anybody's feelings
or anything like that.
It's your art.
You're not gonna destroy your art.
This is something.
He's had four shows with you, Peggy.
You can't suddenly not have a gallery.
You owe him.
Sam won't take him.
What did Betty Parsons say?
So? Everyone drinks.
He's not the only one.
I know, but he's a great painter.
Of course.
I'll call you back.
I'll have supper ready
in a jiffy.
Looks like Betty Parsons
may take you in.
Peggy's willing to continue
the monthly allowance through next year.
So she'll still own
all your unsold paintings...
but Betty will get a commission
on new work that sells.
You've done it, Pollock.
You've cracked it wide open.
Pass.
A nickel.
I'll see your nickel...
and I'll raise you...
a quarter.
I don't like
the look of that smile.
There is a smile of love
and there is a smile of deceit. I'm out.
I'm out.
- Too rich for my blood.
- Two two's.
"There is a smile of smiles...
in which these two smiles meet."
- William Blake.
- Such a bluffer.
Did you hear de Kooning
sold to the Modern?
Want me to deal?
"A singular concentration
of passion and technique...
fierce energy, virtuosity."
I guess it doesn't hurt that
his wife is fucking the critic.
- Who you talking about?
- De Kooning.
I don't know if I'd agree with
virtuosity, but it was a hell of a show.
Blah, blah, blah.
- Did you see the show?
- We're not in Siberia.
So you're the critic now.
No one knows I fuckin' exist.
Who the hell's talkin' about me?
I write about every
goddamn show you have.
You're the only one, Clem.
What good does your praise do me?
It's new stuff.
You gotta give it time.
We're broke!
I'm digging clams out of the bay.
I don't see de Kooning digging clams.
Everyone is struggling.
- It'll break for you soon.
- When?
Jackson, I just took part
in a roundtable on modern art...
held by Life magazine...
for God's sakes.
America has become the center
of Western civilization...
and what you're doing
is the most original...
and vigorous art in the country.
The rest of the critics will catch on.
You just keep at it.
I'm keepin' at it.
Don't tell me to keep at it.
I'm keepin' at it!
Did Clem ruffle your feathers?
- I love all women!
- You get off him!
Get off me!
He can take care of himself!.
This is my house!
Crazy bitch.
This is my house!
Okay, I'm glad that's over.
I'll be right there.
- Hey, Jackson.
- We owe you $56?
Sounds about right.
Hello, there, Jackson.
You oughta mind
your own fuckin' business, bub.
I'm tellin' you, Sande,
if I can do it, you can too.
It's been three weeks now.
Not a drop.
Hell, I quit for good.
We're still strugglin',
but Alfonso and Ted bought a painting.
We won't see any of the money till
I sell a bunch more, but guess what.
Demarest Fund came through.
Fifteen hundred bucks.
I bought a Model A.
Ninety bucks.
No, I'm not kiddin'.
It's just like we used to have.
Would you put Mom back on?
I'd like to say good night.
Okay, then tell 'em good night
from Uncle Jack.
I think the Macys
are going to buy.
Good.
- Are you here?
- That depends.
I'm sorry, he's painting right now.
This is Lee Krasner, his wife.
Yes.
Of course.
I'll let him know.
Bye.
Life magazine.
They want to do
an article on you.
Damn.
I don't let the image
carry the painting.
If it creeps in,
I try to do away with it...
to let the painting come through.
Hold it a minute there, please.
Pollock spends hours
contemplating a painting.
It may be days or even months
before he tackles it again.
Who are your favorite artists?
De Kooning...
Kandinsky.
EI Greco, Goya, Rembrandt.
How do you respond
to some of your critics?
They have said,
"A mop of tangled hair."
"A child's contour map
of the Battle of Gettysburg."
"Cathartic disintegration."
What do you say to that?
- You forgot "baked macaroni."
- Well?
Well, if people would just...
leave most of their stuff at home
and just look at the paintings...
I don't think they'd have
any trouble enjoying them.
It's like looking
at a bed of flowers.
You don't tear your hair out
over what it means.
How do you know when
you're finished with a painting?
How do you know when
you're finished making love?
That's better.
Just be yourself.
Delivery.
Have you seen this...
Life magazine article?
I have plenty if you want one.
Enjoy the show.
Cheer up.
I'm gonna go sell a big one.
Take a look around, fellas.
These are the big shots.
Jackson broke the ice.
Hi. How are you?
- Do you know the Petersons?
- No.
This is Betty Parsons.
Hi, Mom.
Pollock showed 30 pictures last fall
and sold all but five...
and his collectors
are nibbling at those.
Mr. Pollock, in your opinion,
what is the meaning of modern art?
Mr. Pollock, in your opinion,
what is the meaning of modern art?
Modern art, to me...
is nothing more than...
the expression
of the contemporary aims...
of the age that we're living in.
Did the classical artists
have any means of expressing their age?
Yes, and they did it very well.
All cultures have had
means and techniques...
of expressing their...
immediate aims.
The thing that interests me...
is that today...
painters do not have to go to
a subject matter outside of themselves.
They work from a different source.
They work from within.
It seems tome...
that the modern artist
cannot express this age--
the airplane, the atom bomb,
the radio--
in the old forms
of the Renaissance...
or any other past culture.
How do you go about
getting the paint on the canvas?
I understand you don't use brushes
or anything of that sort.
I paint on the floor.
That's not unusual.
The Orientals did that.
Most of the paint I use
is a liquid flowing kind of paint.
The brushes I use
are used more as sticks.
The brush doesn't actually
touch the canvas...
but just above it.
Isn't it more difficult to control,
and isn't there more of possibility...
of getting too much paint,
or splattering, or any number of things?
No, I don't think so.
With experience...
it seems possible to control...
the flow of the paint
to a great extent...
and I don't use--
I don't use the accident...
'cause I deny the accident.
Did you see
the Magazine of Art review?
It was a public recant,
a complete switcheroo.
Five years ago, he called
Pollock's work "baked macaroni."
Now he says,
"an impregnable language of image--
beautiful and subtle patterns
of pure form."
- You all made it.
- Yeah, we made it.
How was it?
Hi, Elizabeth.
Good to see you.
You must be Jeremy.
Dad drove 1 00 miles an hour
all the way from L.A.
Hey, how are you?
How you doin'?
Hi, Charles.
Hi, Jack.
- How are you, Karen?
- She's pleased to meet you.
Hi, Mom.
It's so nice to have
all my boys together.
I'm so glad everybody's here.
How you doin'?
How was the trip?
He's so heavy.
I miss you, you son of a bitch.
I miss you. It's just not the same.
Nothin' was ever the same
to begin with.
- What do you think?
- Shangri-la.
Everybody okay down there?
You hit the big time, Jack.
How many did you sell from that
November show? Mother wrote 18.
That was the best show I ever had.
It all gets poured back into the house.
I'm thinking of buying the acreage next
door, put up a studio for Lee maybe.
Free up the upstairs bedroom,
give her more space.
I think he probably articulated
the profundity of Jackson's art...
more eloquently than anyone has.
- How are they?
- Fine. Mother's reading Peter Pan.
This one here, this is from
the most recent Art News.
- Story about a boy who never grew up.
- Another rave.
I can't wait to see what he's
gonna say about Jackson's next show.
I'm not sure
I always get it, Jack.
I'm the only painter
worth looking at in America.
- There really isn't anyone else.
- I expect that's true, Jack.
- This guy wants to make a film on me.
- Why?
Well, they made one on Calder.
I have a show coming up
at the Circle Gallery.
I'm exhibiting under
the name Charles Pima.
What the hell you doin' that for?
This is priced at 4,000.
Buy it for 1 ,500.
It'll be worth 1 00,000 someday.
-Just any kind for me.
- I'll have a cherry.
Does anybody speak Italian?
I need somebody
who speaks Italian.
Do you speak Italian?
Here it is, Arte Moderna.
We figured out that much-- " Modern Art."
There's an article about me.
Does anybody know
what that means?
Does anybody wanna play anagrams?
Here's something about
" Povro Picasso."
Povro Picasso.
Did you hear that?
What do you think that means?
- I think it means "poor Picasso."
- Poor Picasso?
Like poor? Did you guys hear that?
Poor Picasso!
Is Picasso more important
than your family?
I had this dream.
I'm at the edge of a cliff, and my
brothers are there, all four of them...
and they're trying
to push me off the cliff.
Goddamn fuckin' nightmare.
We're rollin'.
Now come back in.
We're rollin'.
Now come back in.
Don't stop.
That's good.
Stop, stop.
Go to the chair, sit down.
Put your shoes on.
Your head's too low.
Lift it up.
Don't talk. We see your mouth moving.
You're supposed to be alone.
Cut.
We gotta do it again.
You can't talk.
Now sit down.
Don't look at camera.
That's good. Shoes.
That's better.
That looks good.
Cut, cut, cut.
You need to take more time looking.
Like-- I don't know.
Like you're thinking or wondering.
Cut.
Jackson, cut.
Cut. We ran out of film.
Just tell him
you don't wanna do it.
I can't.
Not polite.
It's been a month.
He wants to get it right.
It's not just that, anyway.
I feel like a phony.
You're a great painter, Pollock.
Just paint.
He wants to shoot through glass
so he can see my face.
You're the star.
I feel like a clam
without a shell.
Fuck him.
Fuck him. It's not for you.
I think it's gonna be
your best show ever, Jackson.
Everything works.
The big pictures...
the smaller ones.
It's phenomenal.
I don't think
it's going to sell, though.
- Take care of yourself.
- Will do.
I can't believe
they're still out there.
He's gotta be frozen.
Hello! Happy Thanksgiving!
Yeah. The light's gone.
That's it, Jackson.
We're done.
It's great. It's marvelous.
Jackson, where have you been?
Jackson, please.
Damn it, Hans, we need this.
Come in here.
Here, this one's for you.
First drink I've had
in two years.
Don't be a fool, Jackson.
Carve the turkey for me.
- The gravy.
- Anybody wanna eat?
The turkey will be served.
I'm not the phony,
you're the phony.
- Let's eat!
- Let's eat.
- I'm not the phony, you're the phony.
-Jackson, enough.
No. I want you
sitting next to me.
Come on, sit next to me.
Here you go.
I'm so hungry.
I'm sitting next to my buddy.
I'm not the phony,
you're the phony.
How about a toast
to our hostess?
- Should I do it now, Hans?
- Here we go.
- Now?
- Stop it.
Now, Hans?
Now?
Now!
I understand there was a ruckus
over my Partisan Review article.
Go find it, Lee.
Jewish cunt.
Lee's the one who wants you here.
I call 'em the way I see 'em.
Do you want it any other way?
You call 'em the way you see 'em?
I'm traded in for Clyfford Still.
Jackson, that's not
what Clem's saying.
Clyfford Still is one of
the most original painters around.
- If not the best?
- If not the best.
- Did you read the article?
- I read the whole goddamn thing.
- Clem wasn't trading you for Still.
- Then what was he doing?
The article was about the direction
of modern art. It's not just about you.
- I'm talking to him.
- If you--
I'm not talking to you!
Shut up!
You didn't review '52,
the '54 show was "forced and pumped."
- Is that right?
- As I saw it.
Have I lost my stuff, Clem?
Everybody loses their stuff, Jackson.
You had a good ten-year run.
Everything's gorgeous.
Gorgeous isn't good enough.
What do you want from me?
I like " Easter and the Totem."
Is it as good as the Peterson
it was next to at the Carnegie exhibit?
The Peterson was better.
I had something goin'
in that picture, but it missed.
I had something goin' in "The Deep" too,
but it just missed.
- "The Deep" was a kiss-ass to Still.
- No one asked you!
Clyfford Still couldn't
polish Jackson's shoes.
Look what you were painting
when you were sober.
Now that you're back on booze,
do you paint real pictures?
- Climb off my back, bitch!
- You're a goddamn bum!
Open that mouth again,
I'll kill you!
You are killing me!
You are killing me!
Bitch! Bitch! Bitch!
You wouldn't have a child,
you fuckin' cunt whore!
That would have really
fixed everything.
I never loved you!
Go fuck yourself!.
- I don't even wanna touch you, whore!
- Your sex life is of no concern to me.
Weekly trips to your therapist.
What a joke.
And whatever trash you pick up at
the Cedar afterwards. I could care less!
You don't wanna stay here.
You won't be able to stand it.
This is morning to night. This happens
when we're taking out the garbage!
What are you lookin' for?
What are you pushin' me for?
Stop crying about it and paint!
You're Jackson Pollock
and you don't paint!
It's a tragedy
and I can't stand it!
Paint!
- You look great.
- Thanks. I missed you.
- Don't look at me that way.
- I'm not looking at you.
I was thinking we could visit Peggy
in Venice, see the Biennale.
Time to go to Europe
is when you're very young...
or very old.
But you should go.
Everybody should do
what the hell they wanna do.
She left it in the car.
I'm surprised she hasn't missed it.
You take her
where our friends are.
They have the good grace
not to tell me.
If you don't stop seeing her,
I'm going to leave you.
- I love her.
- You don't.
She's my last chance.
I am not going
to give you a divorce.
If you could be anybody...
who ever lived...
in the history
of the whole world...
who would you be?
You.
I'd better get that.
- Hello?
- I'm ridiculous.
I think I left
my passport at the house.
I suppose I'll have to wait
till the next sailing.
Oh, here it is.
I found it.
Buried in my purse.
I owe the woman something.
I'd be dead without her.
But I'm the one
who loves you, Jackson.
The roses were...
the most beautiful deep red.
I miss you, and wish
you were sharing this with me.
It would be wonderful
to get a note from you.
The painting here
is unbelievably bad.
How are you, Jackson?
Kiss Gyp for me.
Love, Lee.
What have you got there,
Mr. Pollack?
I found him hit on the road.
He's a beautiful dog.
You gotta save him.
He's a beautiful dog.
Keep a girl waiting,
why don't you?
This is my friend, Edith Metzger.
Just throw your stuff in the back.
We'll fit in the front, I think.
Thanks.
Edith wants to go
to the beach today.
We're all set and ready to go.
You go.
We'll wait for you.
Okay?
Are we going?
He's taking a little nap.
He'll be down in a little bit.
- Is he sick?
- No, he's fine.
Let's go see the studio.
What's doin' for tonight?
I'm invited to Rosario's for...
a "musicale" or
somethin' or other benefit.
That could be fun.
Let's go.
I don't want to see
all those people.
Come on, I wanna take
a picture with you.
Edith, take our picture.
Okay, here we go.
Leave the dishes.
- Get dressed.
- We don't have to go, Jackson.
Really, you don't
have to amuse me.
Leave the dishes.
Get dressed.
What's the matter, Jackson?
Are you all right?
- I'm gonna call for help.
- Don't go in there.
- I don't wanna drive with him.
- Get her back in the car.
He's fine. I promise.
We're gonna go home.
I don't wanna drive with him.
Get her back in the car!
Tell him to slow down.
Slow down. Jackson.
Please.
Will you tell him
he has got to slow down this car!
Jackson, slow down.
- Let me out of your car!
- Shut up!
- Let me out!
- Shut up! Jackson!
Let me out of this car!
Get back in the car!
Jackson!
Stop this car right now, Jackson!